Arena Grand Prix at Orlando - Day Two Recap

2/15/2013

The second night of competition from the Arena Grand Prix at Orlando saw top finishes from multiple Olympians, including Olympic gold medalists Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) and Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.). Franklin won the women’s 100m back while Clary earned the top spot in the 200m fly. The meet concludes Saturday, February 16 and is taking place at the YMCA Aquatic Center in Orlando.

Franklin swam an impressive double, going from the women’s 50m free to the 100m back. She finished fourth in the 50m free but won the 100m back in 59.34, the fastest time in the event this year. Olivia Smoliga finished second in 1:01.81 and Hilary Caldwell was third in 1:02.19.

Clary placed first in the men’s 200m fly with a time of 1:59.42. He took the lead after the first 50 meters and led the field throughout the race. He was followed by China’s Wu Peng in 2:00.80 and Alec Page in 2:00.93.

In the 50m free, the men’s race was won by two-time Olympian and gold medalist Anthony Ervin (Berkeley, Calif.) in 22.43. Ervin was followed by Josh Schneider (Cincinnati, Ohio) , who swam a 22.88 for second, and Adam Brown, who was third in 23.01. On the women’s side, 2008 Olympic medalist Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.) earned the top spot in 25.33. Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen Gray was second in 25.36 and Madison Kennedy (Hartford, Conn.) finished third in 25.46.

The men’s 100m back saw a strong swim from Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla.). Murphy kept his slight lead going into the second 50 meters to hold on to the win with a time of 54.92. Australia’s Ryan Hurley was second in 54.95 and Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) was third in 55.42.

Becca Mann (Clearwater, Fla.) turned in another impressive performance Friday night, winning the 400m free and placing second in the 200m fly. Mann won the 400m free in 4:10.66, Alexa Komarnycky was second in 4:11.49 and Barbara Jardin placed third in 4:12.42. In Mann’s other event, she earned second in the 200m fly with a time of 2:10.83. The event was won by Audrey Lacroix in 2:09.63 and Kim Vandenberg (Moraga, Calif.) was third in 2:14.99.

In the final event of the night, the 200m breast, the women’s race was won by Canada’s Martha McCabe in 2:29.58. Raminta Dvariskyte placed second in 2:31.15 and Alia Atkinson was third in 2:31.91. The men’s race was won by Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill.) with a time of 2:14.13. Brazil’s Felipe Lima was a very close second in 2:14.16 and Gabriel Souza was third in 2:17.40.

The next stop on the 2012-2013 Arena Grand Prix Series is in Mesa, Ariz., April 11-13. The Series will conclude June 2, 2013 in Santa Clara, Calif. As part of USA Swimming’s new, eight-year partnership with Arena, the Arena Grand Prix Series will offer swimmers the opportunity to take home prize money for top finishes in all individual Olympic-distance events for each meet in the Series. An overall leaderboard for the Series can be found online here.

The Arena Grand Prix Series serves as an opportunity for swimmers to race against some of the best competition in the country as they continue their preparation for the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., World University Games in Kazan, Russia and the FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.